Talk:DC Reboot (2016)/@comment-152.132.10.79-20151208192808
At first upon looking at this, I was confused. Many of the first titles presented dealt with the same titles that 52 started with. Then upon reading, I run into Ted Kord & Booster Gold, and realize this is something both new and old. If this is really happening, I am a little worried. Introducing 50 comics means that several art & writing teams will be B-C quality, people thrown together who may not have their hearts set on the comics they are assigned. This means that a second tier character that needs a committed writing & art team to break through to readers set on a minimal number of characters they read might not get the chance to make a difference... there is also a problem that a generation of readers has now bonded to 52. they will be as stubborn to see change to their characters as the previous readers who lost their favorites. Some comics that had developed some positive direction - like Grayson, Starfire, Harly Quinn and Bat Girl will also find themselves dropped long before their runs would have ended naturally... I am looking forward to a new direction. What happened to Batman & Superman just took the wind from the sales, and why Cyborg became a starting member of the JLA when Vixen has already been there for decades representing both the female and black populations. Having Alan Scott go from a family man with children to a gay was weird, when others could have fit the need much better. The loss of Wally West, Donna Troy, Spoiler, Cassandra Cain and the mid-generation hurt DC, as much as losing the older generation of heroes. One thing DC has always done better than Marvel is the older generation teaching the younger. You don't need to set a date when they came from, just keep the ages generally fixed - teens, 20's, 30's, 40's, 50's, etc. 52 lost two whole generations in its creation. And the new takes on Captain Atom & Firestorm were ambitious, yet forgot what made the characters popular in the first place... There were some high points to 52. Seeing Earth 2 destroyed by Darkseid, was a highlight we don't need to see again (unless the rest of Apocalypse players are allowed to get involved - and someplace else is chosen to destroy). Seeing Superman & Wonder Woman hit it off was fun to watch. Harly Quinn found a writer who took her madness and ran with it. Martian Manhunter came to the forefront DC. We got to see Barbara Gordon as Batgirl again (although I do miss Oracle). Gotham Academy introduced us to the next generation, as Titans floundered. Batman's son went wild, lived and died. etc. I hope you take the lessons learned from what made each character the most successful, and seek to reach that level again. Firestorm, Ted Kord: Blue Beetle, Booster Gold all did it with wide eyed tongue-in-cheek humor, with their comics plummeting when that was lost. Others like Red Hood, Mr. Terrific, Swamp Thing, and Cyborg need a stronger less humorous feel. Adam Strange is best when he McGuyver's solutions. And teams like the Legion of Super Heroes and Challengers of the Unknown do best when they are taken with respect by their writing & art teams. Shazam is always best left light. And Sandman left dark. Play to each character's strengths, and DC will rise again... And don't forget the villains! One needs not alter them if you just respect them and write them as a true threat. Killing villains off hilly-nilly for effect is cheap writing. The stronger and better written the threat is in the story, the better the hero will come off. 52 started with deaths and massive destruction and world threats. Tone this down to threats to cities and NPCs that we can feel for, and stories become more personal - tying the readers closer to the story and what they personally can look at and understand. Save the world crisis for special occasions. Tragedy that continues in a story is much darker than deaths. Injuries add flavor, while keeping a good NPC within the story... I wish DC well. May it heal it's wounds and recover it's status as a leader in comics.